


A Kind of Silence

by rx_rx



Category: Original Work
Genre: Car Chases, Friendship, Gen, Hurt, Post-Apocalypse, Running Away, Survival
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-29
Updated: 2017-03-29
Packaged: 2018-10-12 09:21:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10487487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rx_rx/pseuds/rx_rx
Summary: Short story. When the world ended, Liesel and Jude were still left in it. It's up to Jude to save Liesel - one of the last, real people alive - but with Liesel's serious injuries, Jude worries if his friend will live long enough to see home, and that's not their only problem.





	

Liesel clutched his chest and struggled with his next breath. The car was dusty and cold. He dug his nails into the jacket that Jude had thrown over him — a makeshift blanket. His fingers curled into the metallic fabric. It was freezing in the car, and it smelled like burning oil.

“Do you need me to pull over?”

“No.”

“Cause if you puke in this car, you’ll be the one cleaning it.”

“Shut up and drive, Jude.”

They were cruising down the highway at reckless speeds. Liesel slumped forward and dropped his head against the passenger window. The glass was like ice.

“You sure you're going to be okay?”

“Yeah,” Liesel muttered, shutting his eyes to block out the passing bright street lamps. His mind drifted. Strung on a split key ring, keys and chains hanging from the ignition switch clinked together like chimes. Through the rearview mirror, he observed the strip of weathered road they were traveling down. Flecks of snow fell against the windshield, obscuring his view but Liesel could see the road well enough to know they were still on the interstate.

“Don’t turn around,” Liesel said.

If Jude heard him, he did not respond. Liesel shut his eyes to clear the dizzying fog blurring his consciousness.

“Lee,” Jude finally said.

Liesel turned to face him, vision skewed. He could barely hear what Jude was saying. “You should keep your eyes open...stay alert, you know?”

“Yeah, right. I'm fine,” Liesel said, even though there was no way Jude bought that he was fine. He focused on the sound of the wheels — the steady drone of it — and the tires grinding into the icy pavement.

Suddenly Jude brushed his hand against Liesel’s forehead, as if he was checking his temperature. The cold brush of Jude’s hand on his face made him recoil.

Liesel batted away his hand. “What the hell—“

“You’re burning up!” Jude retracted his elbow. “How long have you had that fever?”

“I don’t know,” Liesel mused quietly, feeling the vehicle decelerate.

“You don’t remember, or you don’t know?”

“What’s it matter?” Liesel said.

Jude flattened both his palms against the steering wheel. “You’re getting worse.”

“Maybe there’s something wrong with the ventilation system in this car,” Liesel tried to suggest, tapping the dashboard, slightly delirious. “It’s not working.”

“It works fine.”

“Of course you feel fine.”

“I would know if it wasn’t—”

Their vehicle struck a patch of snow on the road. Chips of compacted ice blistered against the windshield. Liesel bolted upright. The pain in his head flared, making him feel the worst he had felt all night.

“Here,” Liesel said. He removed a hand from the steering wheel, popped open the glove box compartment and blindly fished for a bottle. The car showed no sign of slowing. Liesel took it from him, despite having already taken a few. “Take these pills.”

Liesel clutched the bottle in his hand. Nothing would help him now. A sour rush came up his throat but he fought the urge to heave. Saliva accumulated in his mouth.

“And stay awake.”

Liesel sharpened a pained gaze in Jude’s direction. He dropped the unopened bottle into his lap. “Stop giving me orders.”

“Take the goddamn pills!”

Liesel’s stomach felt strangely warm. He attempted to clear his throat, but gurgled on a hot liquid bubbling in the back of his throat.

He doubled over, coughing violently. His entire body spasmed from the fit, leaving him utterly exhausted by the end.

However, his exhaustion was forgotten when he pulled his hand away from his mouth. A thick, warm liquid drenched his hand, running slowly through his fingers and falling in small droplets onto Jude’s jacket he clenched over his lap with his other hand…

...it was blood.

The speedometer sank lower.

Jude tapped the car brakes. He rubbed his face with one hand before finally riding the brake to decelerate. Once he realized they were slowing to a stop, Liesel cursed.

“I told you...not to stop the car,” Liesel told him, choking a little on warm saliva pooling in his mouth. He attempted to crane his neck around him to see out the back window, but the roads were deserted.

They were completely alone on the interstate.

“There’s an emergency phone box nearby,” Jude told him. They had them stationed every few miles on this road. “I’ll call—”

“—you can’t.”

Jude looked absolutely miserable; his face was a shade of washed-out grey as if not knowing what to do.

Liesel took note of the unrecognizable countryside pass them by. Fog the shade of burnt umber and rotting plums clouds the outside world. It was difficult to see anything beyond the cable connectors strung through metal posts lining the interstate.

“I have to.”

“Jude…” Liesel said, on the verge of begging now. _“You can’t.”_


End file.
